Art History - Chapter 3

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Death mask of Tutankhamen, from the innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, Dynasty XVIII
ca. 1323 BCE
1' 9 1/4" high
The extraordinary treasures in the boy-king Tut's tomb attest to the wealth the Egyptian pharaos lavished on preparing for the afterlife. Tut's mask is gold with inlaid gems.

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People, boats and animals, detail of a watercolor copy of a wall painting from Tomb 100 at Hierakonopolis, Egypt.
Predynastic, ca. 3,500-3,200 BCE
Paint on plaster
Entire painting approx. 16' 3" long
The oldest Egyptian mural painting depicts boats, a heraldic group of a human and animals, and a man striking prisoners.
The random arrangement of the motifs is characteristic of Neolithic painting.

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Palette of King Narmer (left, back; right, front) from Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Predynastic, ca. 3000-2929 BCE
Slate
approx. 1' 1" high
These earliest preserved labeled historical reliefs commemorate the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Narmer, the largest figure, effortlessly defeats a foe on one side, and on the other surveys the beheaded enemy.

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Section of typical Egyptian mastaba tombs (top):
Plan of typical Egyptian mastaba tombs (center);
Restored view of typical Egyptian mastaba tombs (bottom)

The standard early Egyptian tomb had an underground burial chamber and rooms to house a portrait statue and offerings to the deceased.
Scenes of daily life often decorated the interior walls.

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IMHOTEP, Stepped Pyramid and mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Dynasty III, ca. 2630-2611 BCE

Imhotep, the first artist whose name is recorded, built the first pyramid during the Third Dynasty for King Djoser.
Djoser's pyramid resembles a series of stacked mastabas of dimishing size.

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Columnar entrance corridor to the mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynasty
ca. 2630-2611 BCE
Imhotep was the first master of stone architecture. The 40 columns in the entrance hall he designed for Djoser's funerary complex resemble bundles of reeds. Their form influenced later Greek fluted columns.

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Plan of the mortuary precinct of Djoser,
Saqqara, Egypt,
Third Dynasty,
ca. 2630-2611 BCE
Djoser's pyramid was the centerpiece of an imense funerary complex that included a mortuary temple, other buildings, and courtyards.
It's network of underground galleries resembled a palace.
Old Kingdom

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Restored view of the mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt
ca. 2630-2611 BCE
Old Kingdom

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Facade of the North Palace of the mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynasty
ca. 2630-2611 BCE
The earliest known stone columns are in Djoser's funerary precinct.
Those on the North Palace facade are engaged (attached) to the walls and have shafts capitals resembling papyrus stalks and blossoms.

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Great Pyramids, Gizeh, Egypt.
4. Dynasty
From left: Pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu
The Great Pyramids of Gizeh took the shape of the ben-ben, the emblem of the sun, Re. The sun's rays were the ramp the Egyptians pharaos used to ascend to the heavens after their death and rebirth.
2551-2472 / Old Kingdom

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Section of the pyramid of Khufu, Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty
ca. 2551-2528 BCE
Khufu's pyramid is the largest at Gizeh. Constructed of roughly 2.3 million blocks of stone, weighing an average of 2.5 tons, the structure is an almost solid mass of stone quarried from the Gizeh plateau itself.

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Ancient Egypt

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What was a palette's purpose?

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The cosmetic palettes of middle to late predynastic Egypt are archaeological artifacts, originally used to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. The decorative palettes of the late 4th millennium BCE appear to have lost this function and became commemorative, ornamental, and possibly ceremonial. They generally were made of softer and workable stone such as slate or mudstone.

Many of the palettes were found at Hierakonpolis, a centre of power in pre-dynastic Upper Egypt. After the unification of the country, the palettes ceased to be included in tomb assemblages.